High speed railway car truck



Feb. 17, 1942. .c. J. HOLLAND arm.

HIGH SPEED RAILWAY CAR TRUCK Filed May 22, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l lllll"mm mm Feb. 17, 1942.

c. J. HOLLAND ETAL HIGH SPEED RAILWAY CAR TRUCK 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledMay 22, 1939 Feb. 17, 1942.

C. J. HOLLAND ETAL HIGH SPEED RAILWAY CAR TRUCK Filed May 22, 1939 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb. 17, 1942 HIGH SPEED RAILWAY CAR TRUCK CyrusJ. Holland and Knute Edahl, Chicago, 111., assignors to Holland Company,a corporation of Illinois Application May 22, 1939, Serial No. 275,042

9 Claims.

This invention relates to railway cars and more particularly to truckstherefor.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a new andimproved mechanism on a self-alining spring plank-less truck forinsuring proper positioning of the side frames relative to the bolsterand axles.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedcombined spring suspension and cushioning or vibration dampening devicewhereby light, intermediate or heavy loads will all be supported withabout the same amount of resiliency and at the same time harmonicvibration will be prevented.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedself-alining truck frame with or without a laterally movable bolstermounted thereon.

Another object of the invention is the provision of new and improvedmeans for insuring a substantially constant effective static deflectionof the supporting spring assemblies under all load conditions togetherwith a low, frequency of oscillation of said assemblies.

A further object is the provision of a new and improved truck that isadapted for high speeds, that is inexpensive tomanufacture, that isselfalining, efiicient in absorbing shocks for loads of differentweights and that is easily assembled and eflicient in operation.

. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of arailway truck, with parts in section and parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a railway truck showing the invention inposition therein, with parts in section and parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of a modifled form of trucktaken on a line similar to line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section of a portion of a bolster andits support which constitutes a modification of that shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is a similar view but showing a still further modified form ofconstruction;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section through the outer end of the bolster,similar to Fig. 1, but on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 15

and showing a further modified form of construction with parts omittedfor the sake of clearness;

Figs. 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are views similar to Fig; 8, each of whichshows a different modified form of construction; and

- Fig. 15 is a vertical section of a railway truck showing a modifiedform of construction, with parts broken away for the sake of clearness.

In the operation of railway car trucks of the type known as theself-alining spring plankless type in which the side frames areconnected only by the axles and bolster, the frame at one side of thetruck may advance slightly ahead of the other when the truck travelsaround a curve. Often this advance position of one side frame over theother will be maintained for some time on a straight track after thetruck has passed around a curve thus causing the flanges of the wheelsto engage the rails with a consequent wearing of both the flanges andrails causing increased resistance and therefore requiring more power tohaul such cars.

In the transportation of freight of a more or less perishable nature,speed is one of the most important and one of the most necessaryrequirements of the conveyance. As speed in transportation increases, asis the present trend, there arise numerous resulting difiiculties orproblems that were not present, or were of such a nature that they couldbe ignored, in operating vehicles at lower speeds. Since the centrifugalforce of the car on curves varies as the square of the velocity, it isevident that difiiculties like wear between the rails and wheel flangeson traveling around curves, for instance, would be greatly increased dueto the increased pressure as a result of this higher speed.

Thepresent invention seeks to remedy these difliculties by the provisionof new and improved means for promptly returning the truck frames andbolster to normal position after passing around the curve in order toreduce this wear to a minimum.

Furthermore, the shocks transmitted to the car on account of flat wheelsor faults in the track at higher speeds would likewise be more intense,

more or less frictional resistance to the free vertical vibration of theassembly.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, thereference character 5designates a railway car truck, which is of the type known asself-aliningspring plankless truck, having side frames 6 at the sides ofthe truck which are adapted to be supported by the axles l and B attheir ends. The ends of the side frames are provided with dependinghollow pedestal legs 9 and H1 forming enlarged recesses l4 within whichthe journal boxes l6 and I! are vertically movable. Since the journalboxes are substantially alike, only one need be described.

Each of the journal boxes, as for instance box I6, is provided withforwardly and rearwardly extending projections |8 having upstandingwalls l9, see Fig. 2, forming recesses for receiving the spring units 2|and 22. The spring units 2| and 22 engage the upper wall sections 23 and24 forming the recess 4 as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Theend of the side frame is also provided with an upwardly extending recess25 which extends upwardly from the recess M for receiving a frictionspring unit 26. The recess 25 is in communication with the recess l4 andis located vertically above the journal box IE, as shown in Fig. 2.

These spring units cooperate to provide a spring assembly forresiliently supporting the truck frame and the superstructure of thecar. The units 2| and 22 are alike and each comprises an outercylindrical spring 21 having its turns substantially rectangular incross-section and decreasing in thickness from one end toward the other.The internal and external diameters of the spring are, preferably thoughnot necessarily, constant from one end of the spring to the other. Aninner spring 28 may also be employed and this spring has its turnsrectangular in crosssection and decreasing in thickness from one endtoward the other as in the outer spring. The turns of this spring arealso preferably of uniform width throughout the length of the spring asin the outer spring. By means of this arrangement, the side frames areresiliently supported whether the car is empty, partly or wholly loaded.When the car is empty, the resiliency is principally in the upper turnsof the spring where they are not so thick and when the car is partly orwholly loaded, the upper turns of the spring settle down upon each otherso that the resiliency is principally in the lower, stiffer turns of thespring.

For the purpose of assisting in supporting the load and at the same timepreventing harmonic action of the spring units, the volute or frictionspring unit- 26 is employed. The friction unit 26 is in the form of avolute having the base 32 and cap plate 33 held in assembled relation onthe spring unit by a bolt 34. This unit is in parallel with the springunits 2| and 22. This volute spring is closely wound so that there ismore or less friction between the contacting surfaces of the turns whenthe spring is in opera-' tion and as 'a g-result of this construction,this friction will prevent the free vertical vibration of the entirespring assembly. In the volute spring, the outer turns being fartherfrom the axis of the spring are more resilient than the inner turns sothat the outer turns of the volute cooperate with the thinner turns ofthe helicals for resiliently supporting the light loads and on heavierloads, certain of the outer turns will settle so that the car, when itis partly or fully loaded, will be resiliently supported by the innerstiffer turns of the volute and this in turn will cooperate with thethicker turns of the helicals for supporting the heavier loads and atthe same time, the frictional resistance between the turns will be suchas to prevent harmonic action of the entire spring assembly. This isconsidered an important feature of the invention because it not onlyaffords considerable resiliency to a car whether it is empty or loadedbut will, at the same time, prevent harmonic action of the entire springassembly under all conditions.

The side frames are provided with the usual bolster openings 35 atopposite sides of which are the columns 36 and 31, Fig. l, which areadapted to guide the bolster in its verticalmovement. If the bolster beof the lateral movement type, as shown on the drawings, the tensionmember 38 of the side frames, Fig. 3, has mounted thereon supportingmembers 39, Fig. 3, having the lower cam race member 4| secured thereon.The cam race member 4| is provided with a plurality of cam races 42, 43and 44 which are adapted to be engaged by corresponding cam members 45,46 and 47, respectively. The cam members 45, 46 and 41 are adapted toengage cam races 48, 49 and 5|, respectively, on the under side of thebolster 52. The cam races and cam members are so constructed that whenthe truck travels around a curve, it will cause a banking of the car,that is, when the bolster moves outwardly by centrifugal force, theouter end of the bolster will be raised and the inner end will belowered. The races and cams are also so constructed that there may be avery limited movement of the bolster without raising or lowering eitherend. This is for the purpose of providing for the nosing or sideswinging of the truck frame on straight-away tracks. This movement isvery slight.

The side frames are held in a i. are held from canting, angle, T orchannel tie bar 53 which has its web portion or horizontal flange 50 ateach end provided with a recess for engaging over a boss 54 on an inwardprojection or arm 55 rigidly secured to, or integral with, the tensionmember 38 of the side frame. A bolt, washer and nut 56 holds the tie baron the boss 54. The openings in the tie bar and the bosses form a hingeconnection so as to permit one side frame to advance beyond th other intravelling around curves.

In Fig. 6 is shown a modified form of construction for permitting thebolster to have a lateral movement. In this form of construction,rollers 51 are employed instead of the cam members 45, 46 and 41 of theprevious construction. The rollers engage corresponding cam surfaces 58and 59 which are so constructed that when the truck moves around acurve, it will cause a vertical movement of the bolster relative to theside frames.

In Fig. 7 is shown a still further modified form of construction and inthis form, the cam members 6| are oblong in longitudinal cross-section,that is, they are more or less egg-shaped, and are so arranged that whenthe bolster moves laterally in either direction, it will cause both endsof the bolster to move upwardly vertically and laterally without bankingthe car.

vertical plane, by means of an I so that the bolster will be normalthereto.

In the self-alining spring plankless type of trucks, the side frames arenot rigidly connected together but the parts are so constructed that intravelling around curves, one side frame may advance over the other. Ithas been proposed that in order to accommodate this movement, thebolster be provided at each side thereof with a convex surface and theside frame columns or bolster guides be provided with correspondingconcave surfaces for causing the parts to selfaline. The friction of theparts, however, is such that after the truck has travelled around thecurve, it often happens that the parts will not properly aline for somedistance and as a result, there will be a great amount of frictioncausing considerable wear on the rails and wheel flanges.

In this invention, suitable means are provided for automatically aliningthe parts. In the form of the construction selected to illustrate oneembodiment of this featureof the invention, resilient means are providedwhich are adapted to be compressed when the parts are out of alinementand will tend to force the parts to normal position after the truckpasses onto a straight track. As shown, each ofv the columns or bolsterguides 36, Fig. 8, has attached thereto a spring element 62 which issecured to the column between the bolster and column. In the form of thedevice shown, the spring has an indentation 64 which is adapted to besecured to the column by one or more rivets 65,as clearly shown in Fig.1 of the drawings.

The outer ends or side edges of the spring are normally spaced from theside edges of the column so that when the bolster moves angularlyrelative to the side frame, it will compress one of the outer endsorside. edges of the spring 62 when the truck travels around curves andwhen the truck travels onto a straight-away track, the resiliency ofthe" compressed end of the spring 62 will tend to move the side frameThe side edges of the spring 62 are bent around the laterally extendingribs 63 as shown in Fig. 8 for anchoring the spring.- The columns 35 arebeveled at their inner and outer sides adjacent the bolster as shown at60 for providing clearance for the angular movement of the bolsterrelative to the side frame.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 10,-

held in position by one or more rivets 650. The .side edges of thespring engage the inner and outer faces of the column, as shown. Thecolumn is beveled as at 600 to provide clearance between the spring andbolster.

In the modified form of the construction shown in Fig. 11, the springmember 66 is attached to the bolster 520. instead of the column 36a. Asshown, the bolster is provided with a recess 61 and the spring with adepression 68 which is adapted to engage in the recess 61 and be securedtherein by rivets'or other suitable fastening means. The outer ends ofthe spring are spaced from the adjacent wall of the bolster whereby whenthe bolstermoves out of its normal position, as when the truck is movingaround a curve, one end or the other of the spring will be compresseddepending on the direction of the curve.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 12, a pair of spring members 69and H are employed.

In this form of construction, the pedestals or columns 36b are eachprovided with a dove-tail recess 12 within which the inner channelshapedends 13 and 14 of the springs 69 and H, respectively, are seated. Theedges 15 and'l6 of the column that forms the dove-tail groove 12 areheld within these channels by a wedge member 11 held in place bysuitable means such as the rivets 18. The outer edges of the springmembers 69 and H are bent outwardly to engage the inner and outer sidefaces of the frame 36b so that when the bolster moves angularly relativeto the column, the movement will be resisted by the resiliency of one orthe other of these springs, depending on the direction of the curve.

In Fig. 13 is shown another modified form of construction. In this form,the columns 360 are each provided with a pair of recesses 19 and 8|within which are mounted suitable helical springs 82 and 83. A flexibleplate 84 extends around the outer ends of the springs and has its sideedges bent as at 85 over the shoulders 86 and 81 on the pedestal forholding the springs in position in the channels 19 and .8 l. The face ofthe pedestal is beveled in opposite directions so that the outer ends ofthe plate 84 that extends around the springs will be spaced from thecolumns except at the central portion thereof. The engagement of theouter end of the spring with the shoulders 86 or 81 will hold one end ofthe spring while it is being compressed at the other end.

The form of the construction shown in Fig. 14 differs from that shown inFig. 13' in that the'bolster 52d is provided with recesses 88 and 89 forreceiving the. helical springs 9| and 92.

A plate 93 is interposed between the springs 9| frame and forcompressing the springs when the bolster moves angularly relative to theside frame.

In the form of the construction shown in Fig. 15, the bolster 52 is notprovided with means for permitting a lateral movement thereon. In thisform of the construction, the side frames 95 are provided withconventional bolster openings 96 for receiving the ends of the bolster52 as is usual in such construction.

In the form of the device shown in'Fig. 15, the spring assembly 98 isbetween the bolster 52 and thetension member 99 of the side frame 95instead of being mounted on the journal box as in the previousconstructions. The tension member 99 of the side frame is provided witha fiat surface on which the spring assembly 98 is mounted, as clearlyshown in Fig. 15 of the drawings. The spring assembly 98 is similar tothose already described and comprises a plurality of helical springsIIII' having turns of variable thickness and in the form shown, theseturns decrease in thickness from the bottom toward the top as in theprevious construction. A friction spring unit, such as the volute springI02, is mounted. on the tension member 99 beneath the bolster and ispreferably, though not necessarily, arranged at the center of the springassembly. This assembly, like the one previously described, will have asubstantially constant efonto a straight track.

fective static deflection together with a low frequency of oscillationso that loads of different weights will be resiliently supported in suchmanner that they will have substantially the same amount of resilientmovement.

The term constant effective static deflection may be explained asfollows: If the load deflection curve be plotted with load asordinateand deflection as abscissa, the length between the intercepts on the.r-axis of the normal to the curve at any point and the tangent to thecurve at the same point, shall be a constant.

In this form of construction, the columns I 03, Fig. 9, are providedwith spring plates I04, one at each side thereof, which have their endsreturn bent as at I and H16 for engaging pro jections l0! and H18,respectively, on the column. The column I03 is beveled off at each side,as shown in Fig. 9, so that the ends of the spring plate will be spacedfrom the column I03 at the sides thereof.

In the operation of the device, when one side frame outruns another, oneor the other end or side edge of the spring plate I 04 will becompressed, its other side being anchored by the return bend on the edgeof the spring engaging the projections [01, I08, as the case may be. Thecompression of the spring will tend to bring the parts into properalinement, that is, with the frame normal to the bolster after the truckruns The form of the 'device shown in Fig. 8 differs from that shown inFig. 9 in that the spring plate 82 has its central portion 64 depressedand secured to the central 'portion of the side frame column 36 by anysuitable means such as the rivets B5.

In all forms of the construction, the bolster is provided withprojections 70 extending forwardly and rearwardly for engaging theadjacent columns for limiting the lateral relative movement of thebolster and frames. It will be noted that the adjacent surfaces ofeither the bolster or columns are beveled so as to permit a limitedrelative angular movement of the bolster and side frames as whenrounding curves. The arrangement of the bolster, side frames and 00-operating springs for resiliently resisting angular movement of the sideframes relative to the bolster, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, may be usedwith the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5, if

desired.

It will thus be seen that whatever may be the weight of the loaded car,there will be a substantially constant effective static deflection ofthe spring assemblies together with a low frequency of oscillation ofthe springs. Also, the tendency for the truck frames to get out ofalinemerit relative to each other and the bolster will be resistedby'the spring elements located between the truck side frame columns andthe bolster and these spring elements perform the function of restoringthe side frames and bolster to their proper relation whenever the truckgets out of square in rounding curves.

It is thought from the foregoing, taken in connection with the drawings,that the construction and operation of our device will be apparent tothose skilled in the art and that changes in size, shape, proportion ordetail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

' We claim as our invention:

1. In a railway truck, a side frame at each side of the truck, abolster, a plurality of axles for supporting said frames, means forconnecting said axles and bolster to said frames so that during thetravel of the truck on a curve, said bolster may extend at an acuteangle to the frames, means including a spring member engaging thevertical end walls of said bolster for restoring said bolster to aposition normal to said frames when said truck reaches a straight track,and means for automatically banking said bolster when the truck roundscurves at high speed.

2. In a railway car having a truck provided with side frames, wheeledaxles for said frames, spring assemblies for supporting said frame fromsaid axles, each assembly consisting of a plurality of helical springseach having turns of different cross-sectional area with the smallest atone end of the spring, and at least one volute spring having its turnsin frictional engagement, said frames having bolster openingstherethrough, a bolster having its ends extending through saidopenings'and provided with shoulders for loosely connecting said sideframes together, and spring means between said frames and the ends ofsaid bolster at each side thereof and extending to opposite sides of thecorresponding frame for resiliently resisting angular movements of saidside frames relative to said bolster.

3. In a railway truck, a pair of side frame members, a bolster member,wheeled axles for supporting said frame members, a loose motionconnection between said bolster and axles, and said frame memberswhereby one of said frame members may advance before the other oncurves, a spring plate secured between one end of said bolster and thecorresponding frame member, the surface of said member to which saidspring plate is attached being inclined in opposite directions to formclearance for the movement of said spring and the surface of the othermember being adjacent to said plate whereby said plate will yieldinglyresist an ular movement of said bolster relative to said correspondingside frame.

4. In a railway truck, a side frame at each side of said truck. aplurality of axles and a bolster for connecting said side framestogether, loose motion connections between said side frames and bolsterand axles whereby the angle formed between each frame and said bolstermay be greater or less than while moving around a curve, and resilientmeans for restoring the parts to normal position on a stra ght track,said means comprising resilient plate members between said bolster endsand corresponding side frames each extending to opposite sides of thecorresponding side frame.

5. In a railway truck having wheeled axles, side frames having bolsteropenings therein, a bolster having its ends extending through saidopenings and provided with shoulders for loosely connecting said sideframes together, spring means between said frames and bolster at eachside thereof for resiliently resisting angular movements of said sideframes relative to said bolster, rockable means for supporting saidbolster from said frames'and for banking said bolster on turns, a springassembly for supporting said frames on said axles, said assemblycomprising a plurality of helical springs having turns with decreasingthickness from one end to the other for resiliently supporting variableloads, and volute spring means for assisting in supporting the load andfor dampening the oscillation of said spring assembly having a lowfrequency of oscillation.

6. In a railway truck having axles and journal boxes therefor, a pair ofside frame members having bolster openings therethrough, a bolstermember having its ends extending into said openings, and means foryieldingly retaining said bolster member normal to said side framemembers, said means comprising resilient plates extending to oppositesides of said frame members between the ends of said bolster member andsaid frame members attached to one of said members and having their sideedges spaced from said one member for yieldingly resisting angularmovement of one member relative to the other.

7. In a railway truck, a side frame at each side of the car, a pluralityof axles for supporting said frames, a plurality of spring assembliesinterposed between cooperating parts of said truck for resilientlysupporting a load carried by said truck, said spring assembliescomprising a plurality of resilient units arranged to operate inparallel, certain of said units each comprising springs, their turnsdecreasing in cross-sectional area from one end to the other end forresiliently supporting variable loads, the external and internaldiameters of said springs remaining constant throughout the length ofthe springs, the remaining unit-being a single volute with itsoverlapping turns in frictional contact with each other for preventingharmonic action of said springs.

8. In a railway car having a truck provided I diameters throughout theirlengths, each having turns of different cross-sectional area, thecrosssectional area of the turns of said spring being greater at one endthan at the other, and at least one volute spring engaging said seats,each volute spring having a single length of material coiled to form thespring and having its turns in frictional engagement with each other,said volute spring being above the axle and said helical springs beingat the sides thereof, whereby the springs will operate in parallel, saidvolute and helical springs constituting the sole resilient means forsupporting said side frames.

9'. In a railway car having a truck provided with side frames, wheeledaxles for supporting said frames, a plurality of spring assembliesinterposed between cooperating parts of said truck I for resilientlysupporting a load carried by said truck, each assembly comprising aplurality of resilient units arranged to operate in parallel, certain ofsaid units each comprising helical springs, their turns decreasing incross-sectional area from one end to the other for resilientlysupporting variable loads, the external and internal diameters of saidhelical springs remaining constant throughout the lengths of thesprings, the remaining unit being a single volutemade from a singlelength of material with its overlapping turns in frictional contact witheach other whereby said spring assembly will have a low frequency ofvibration: under both light and heavy loads and harmonic vibration ofsaid as-,

sembly will be prevented.

CYRUS J. HOLLAND. KNUTE EDAHL.

